Fotoeins Fotografie

By fotoeins on 9 December 2016

Since 2003, December 11 is International Mountain Day as designated by the United Nations General Assembly. Annually, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) observes the day:

… to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.

•   Mountains cover almost one-quarter (22 percent) of the Earth’s surface.
•   Mountains host about 50 percent of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
•   Up to 80 percent of the world’s freshwater supply comes from mountains.
•   One in eight people (13 percent) around the world lives in the mountains.
•   Mountain tourism accounts for almost 20 percent of the worldwide tourism industry.

The following provides a glimpse to the mountain environments around the world and to the challenging conditions our ancestors would have faced and endured.

Around the planet

1. Australia: Blue Mountains
2. Austria: Kitzbühel Alps
3. Brazil: Serra do Ibitiraquire
4. Canada: BC Coastal Mountains
5. Chile: Cordillera de los Andes (lower Andes)
6. Chile: Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range)
7. Germany: Wettersteingebirge
8. México: Sierra de San Pedro Mártir
9. New Zealand: Southern Alps
10. South Africa: Table Mountain Group
11. United States: Hawai’i

1. Australia: Blue Mountains

West from Sydney in Katoomba, New South Wales.

At Echo Point in Katoomba as torrential rain approaches the Three Sisters. Mt. Solitary peak at right was known as “Mun-mi-ee” by the indigenous Gundungarra people. HL, 8 Jul 2007 (A510).

Back to the list

2. Austria: Kitzbühel Alps

In Tirol’s Alpbach alpine valley.

Alpbach valley in early spring-morning light. HL, 14 May 2018 (X70).

Back to the list

3. Brazil: Serra do Ibitiraquire

A part of Serra do Mar (Mountains of the Sea), near Morretes in Paraná state.

View north-northeast from Mirante Recanto Engenheiro Lacerda on highway PR-410. At left is Pico Paraná which at an elevation of 1877 metres (6158 feet) is the highest point in Paraná state and in southern Brazil. HL, 10 Jul 2011 (450D).

Back to the list

4. Canada: BC Coastal Mountains

Northwest from Vancouver, BC.

Above Bowyer Island in the fjord called Howe Sound. The indigenous Squamish First Nations people have been present here for thousands of years before European colonization. HL, 16 May 2014 (6D1).

Back to the list

5. Chile: Cordillera de los Andes

Lower Andes, near Vicuña in Región de Coquimbo (Región IV).

The SOAR telescope at Cerro Pachón, on an early winter afternoon – 15 Jul 2010 (450D).

Back to the list

6. Chile: Cordillera de la Costa

Coastal mountain range in Región de Antofagasta (Región II).

Telescopes & Residencia, of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) at Cerro Paranal. The arid desert, horizontal laminar air flow overhead, and its location far from artificial lights are prime conditions for astronomy. HL, 25 Nov 2009 (450D).

Back to the list

7. Germany: Wettersteingebirge

As part of the Alps, the Wetterstein mountain range in southern Bavaria.

From Wank summit, facing west towards Zugspitze in the distance at centre. HL, 28 May 2018 (X70).

Back to the list

8. México: Sierra de San Pedro Mártir

Mountains along the spine of the Baja California peninsula.

Southeast view from México’s Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (National Astronomical Observatory). At centre is Picacho del Diablo, which at an elevation of 3096 metres (10157 feet) is the highest point in Baja California. HL, 16 Dec 2005 (A510).

Back to the list

9. New Zealand: Southern Alps

Flyover near Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on the South Island.

On board The Grand Traverse flight tour. At left and right, respectively, are the nation’s 2 highest peaks: Horokoau (Mount Tasman) and Aoraki (Mount Cook). HL, 21 Jul 2012 (450D).

Back to the list

10. South Africa: Table Mountain Group

Standing over Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans converge.

Facing south from the “back” of Table Mountain. HL, 13 Oct 2012 (450D).

Back to the list

11. United States: Hawai’i

A remnant of the “hotspot”, near Kawaihae on the Big Island of Hawaii.

A decent view northeast from Mauna Kea Golf Course. Visible are cinder cones on the flank of the extinct volcano Kohala. HL, 8 Dec 2009 (450D).

Back to the list

Photo by Amy Toensing for Getty Images. UN FAO International Mountain Day 2016.

Except for the first and final images, I made all other photos labelled “HL” between 2005 and 2018 with the following devices: Canon A510 Powershot (A510), Canon XSi/EOS450D (450D), Canon EOS6D mark1 (6D1), and Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime (X70). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-99u.